© Associated Asia Research Foundation (AARF) A Monthly Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International e-Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories. Page | 1 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ANYIAM OSIGWE’S GROUP MIND AND THE NOTION OF GENERAL WILL IN J. J ROUSSEAU’S SOCIAL CONTRACT Olalere Kunle Oluwafemi, Adedokun Temitope Ruth Department Of General Studies The Polytechnic Ibadan, Nigeria ABSTRACT Emerging trends in socio-political discourses in recent times have dwelt largely on the comparative study of parallel frameworks and political theories in the works of Western and African scholars with the aim of identifying seemingly familiar grounds that can be adopted in forging a common ground. The central idea is to attempt a canonization of theories that are considerably compatible in resolving common political problems across the divide. This paper therefore, attempts a comparative study of Anyiam Osigwe’s idea of the ‘group mind’ and J.J Rousseau’s notion of the ‘general will’ as identical frameworks with different orientations. The paper concludes that there are familiar grounds in the operation of both theories and consequently submits that they are practical tools that can be employed universally in the search for socio-political development. Keywords: Group mind, General will, Socio-political development, Politics , State. INTRODUCTION The conception of the Group mind as put forward by Anyiam Osigwe is an off-shoot of the metaphysical discourse on the human mind, advocating that the mind is the centre of all International Research Journal of Humanities, Language and Literature ISSN: (2394-1642) Impact Factor- 5.401, Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2018 Website- www.aarf.asia , Email : editor@aarf.asia , editoraarf@gmail.com